Virgil Ware Biography

sources

Biography:

Produced on December 6, 1949, Virgil Ware grew up in Alabama at a period when the South was broken up by battles between supporters of racial equality and segregationists. Following a church bombing killed four girls on September 15, 1963, two white teens shot and killed Ware the exact same day. His departure was forgotten for a long time, but Ware is now recognized to be a casualty of the Civil Rights Movement.

Virgil Lamar Ware, known as Virgil Ware, was created on December 6, 1949. The third of six kids, Ware was an outstanding pupil who loved playing football and wished to eventually become an attorney. It was while with this errand that Ware fell upon two white 16-year olds: Michael Lee Farley and Larry Joe Sims.

Farley and Sims Eagle Scouts who’d attended a segregationist rally earlier in the day had learned of the bombing, and of the demonstrations that were going on in the city. Believing that Ware and his brother were throwing stone, Farley directed Sims to frighten them by firing Farley’s pistol as they drove past on a motorbike. Sims and Farley failed to cease to learn why. Strike in the torso and face, the 13-year old Ware expired about the Docena-Sandusky Road on the outskirts of Birmingham. Along with the young women killed in the bombing, Ware’s September 15, 1963 departure followed that of Johnny Robinson, who was killed with a cop a limited time before.

When faced by authorities, Sims admitted to shooting Ware, saying he’d done so unintentionally, as he’d fired along with his eyes shut. They were both sentenced to seven months in jail, however a judge subsequently changed the punishment, giving them two years’ probation instead. Decades after, Sims and Farley both apologized to Ware’s family.

Entombed without headstone, the problem of Ware’s grave deteriorated over time. Following a news story discussed this advice, contributions were sent into help. Ware was reburied in a fresh grave, using a mark, in 2004. Although the deaths of the four women received more interest for decades, Ware is now recognized as another “foot soldier” of the Civil Rights Movement. In 2013, he was inducted into Birmingham’s Gallery of Prominent Citizens.